Fire-escape.



W. R. GAIN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLIOATION FILED, JULY 27, 1911.

1,,Q3L909. Patented July 9, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

i w. R. GAIN.

FIRE ESGAPE.

APPL I OKTIOH FILED JULY 27, 1911.

Patented July 9, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

A 9 A WIMWMA/ QHoznu o escape:

. the line.5-5 of Fig. 2;

WESLEY RYDER CAIN, OF PORT JERVIS, NEW YORK.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented July 1912.

Application filed July 27, 1911. Serial no. 640,831.

To all whom it may concern.

lie it known that l, Vnsnnv R. CAIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port Jervis, in the county of Orange and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes; andI do declare the-following to be a full, clear. and description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in tire escapes.

()ne object of the invention is to provide a device of this character by means of which a person may escape unaided from a burning building. 7

Another object is to provide a tire escape of this character having an improved construction of braking mechanism whereby the speed of the person or load descending thereon will he autm'rnitically controlled and will be uniform throim'hout the descent.

.Yith these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, and the combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully described and claimed.

in the accompanying drawings: Figure 1. is a perspective;view of my improved fire Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional view of the escape; Fig. 3 is a central. horizontal section thereof; Fig. 4 a transverse vertical section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2 showing the relative position of the working parts. Fig. 5 is a similar view on 7 Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the double braking lever; Fig. 7 is a similar view of the centrifugal weight supporting plate; Fig. 8 is a similar View of one of the combined centrifugal weights and brake blocks.

Referring more particularly to the. drawings, 1. denotes the cylindrical casing or drum of my innn-oved tire escape, said casing comprising an integral head or end plate 2 and a removable head or'end plate 3. At diametrically opposite points on the edges of the plate .2 are formed aperturcd lugs 5 and on the opposite edges of the removable head 3 of the casing are formed apertured lugs 6 which are adapted to be (paged wi h the hi and through said lngjs are ins ed bolts whereby the of casing rigidly SQ" cured to the main portion thereof, In the outer edge of the upper side of the casing is formed a locking notch 7 with which is engaged a V-shaped locking lug 8 formed on the inner side of the adjacent portion of the removable head 3, said lug forming an addi tional means for holding said removable head in rigid engag'en'ient with the casing. In the center of the head 2 is formed a bearing-socket. 9 while in the center of the removable head 3 is formed a bearing aper ture 10. iVith said socket and aperture are revolubly engaged the ends of a cable supporting shaft 11. Formed integral with or secured to the shaft 11 in any suitable manner is a grooved cable receiving pulley 1:2. and spaced a suitable distance from and also preferably formed integral with the shaft 11 is a centrifugal weight supporting plate 13, said plate being tapered toward its ends to form weight supporting arms 14 with which are slidably engaged coi'nbined centrifugal weights and brake blocks .15, said blocks being of segmental form and having therein central transversely disposed tapered passages 15 with which the tapered arms 14 of the plate 13 are engaged and whereby said plates or blocks are operatively supported in the casing. The curved outer edges of the weights or blocks 15 are formed on a smaller radius than the annular inner surface of the sides of the casing whereby when said blocks or weights are thrown outwardly by centrifugal force only a small portion of the outer edges of the weights or blocks engage the inner surface of the sides of the casing, thus preventing said-blocks from frictionally engaging the inner surface of the casing to such an e);- tent as to entirely stop the operation of the device when thrown out by the centrifugalaction of the parts. ,j

Pivotally secured at its upper end-to the inner surface of the plate 3 is a double brake lever 16, said lever comprising a substantially horse the inner faces or edges of the arms or side bars of which are curved to conform substantially with the curvature of the'grooved pulley 12 on the shaft lland are grooved for a purpose tohe described. The outer ends of said arms are enlarged and curved outwardly and have their shown. Frojecting of tho'plate 3 adjacent from. the inner to and spacut a suitshoe or inverted tl-shaped plate,

inner edges grooved of-which adjacent to the ends of the arms of the lever 16 are provided with rope or cable engaging grooves which co-act with the grooves in the ends of the arms of the lever 16, Engaged with the grooved pulley 12 and arranged between the same and the arms of the lever 16 is a load supporting and lowering rope or cable 18 the ends of which pass between the ends of the arms of thelever and the lugs 17 and out through slots 19 formed in the adjacent sides of the casing. With the rope or cable thus arranged it will be seen that when a load is placed on either end of the cable and the latter thus drawn around the pulley 12 that said pulley, together with the shaft 11 and Weight supporting plate 13 will be revolved and that the centrifugal motion thus imparted to the shaft and plate will throw the weights or brake blocks 15 outwardly and into frictional engagement with the inner surface of the sides of the casing thereby I applying a braking action to the movement of the shaft and pulley thereon. In addition to the braking action thus produced a braking action is also applied directly to the rope or cable by means of the brake lever 16in connection with'the brake shoes 17. The operation of the braking lever 16 to apply a braking action to the rope or cable is produced b the pull upon the end of the cable to whic the load or person descending is applied, said end of the cable when thus pulled tending to straighten itself between one of the lugs and adjacent end of the lever 16 thus swinging the lever in this direction and causing the opposite end thereof to bind the opposite end of the rope between itself and the adjacent brake lug 17 thereby exertin a gripping or braking action upon the ca le which will retard the passage of the same between this end of the lever and the co-acting brake lug and between the end of the lever and the ad'acent side of the pulley as will be readily understood. By thus arranging the braking mechanism it will be seen that the heavier the weight or-load applied to the cable the more tightly the braking lever will engage the opposite end of the cable so that the speed of the person or load descending will be uniform and willbe automatically controlled during the entire descent irrespective of the weight of the'person or load. The casing may be provided with any suitable means for attaching the same to a building or other support when in operation, said casing being here-shown as provided with a link 20 engaged with one of the bolts which secure the parts of the casing together.

From the foregoing description taken 1n connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details ofmonstruction may be resorted to'without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A fire escape comprising a casing, a

shaft revolubly mounted therein, a rooved cable-receiving 'pulle fixed to sai an inverted U-shape brake lever pivotally secured at its upper end to one wall of said casing over and in alinement with said. pulley, the inner face of the legs of saidklever being curved to conform to. the curvatur of the pulley and with the free ends of sai legs curved outwardly, and brake shoes fixed to said casing adjacent the ends ofthe legs of said brake lever.

52. A fire escape comprising a casing, a shaft revolubly mounted therein, a grooved pulley fixed on said shaft, a cable engaged with said pulley, a double cable braking lever pivotally mounted in said casing and having curved arms adapted to coact with said grooved pulley and between which and the pulley said cable is arranged, and brake lugs arranged in the casing and adapted to coact with the free ends of the arms of said brake lever, whereby when a load is applied to one end of the cable, said lever will be actuated to bind the other end of the cable between itself and its adjacent coact'm-g brake lug, the'reby retarding the movement shaft,

of the cable. 1

3. A fire escape comprising a cylindrica casing having an integral and a removable head therefor, bearings formed in said heads, means to detachably secure said removable head to the casing, a cable supporging shaftrevolubly mounted in said bearings, a grooved cable enga ing pulley fixed to said shaft, a cab e braking lever pivotally connected to the inner side of said removable head, said lever comprising a pair of curved arms having grooved inner edges adapted to coact with the grooved surface of said pulley, said arms having enlarged outwardly curved ends on their edges, grooved lugs formed on said removable plate adjacent to and adapted to eoact with the enlarged grooved ends of the arms of said lever, to form uide passages through which the ends of the cable pass and by means of which when a load is applied to the end of the cable, said lever will be actuated to bind the opposite end of the cable between the adjacent end of the lever and its coact-ing lug, thereby in'ipariing a braking action'directly to the cable.

4. A fire escape comprising a casing, a shaft revolubly mounted therein, a cable receiving pulley fixed to said shaft, a bifurcated brake lever pivotally secured to one wall of said casing over and in alinement with said pulley, the faces of said lever adjacent said pulley'being curved to conform to the curvature of the pulley, said lever having its free ends curved outwardly and brake shoes fixed to said casing adja- 10 centthe ends of said lever.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WESLEY RYDER CAIN. Witnesses:

WVMFH. EIDEL, WM. W. EDWARDS 

